So I haven't posted in a while. Like 3 weeks to the day. For that I apologize. Let me run you through what happened. This will be long, but only because I want to be thorough. I apologize in advance.
Wednesday night before surgery I was a ball of nerves so I cleaned my house and did laundry and what-not until I literally could no longer keep my eyeballs open, and then I showered and went to bed. And then I was wide awake for the duration of the night. Because, NERVES.
Thursday morning rolled around. Our lil' nugget begged to go to summer camp that day, so my husband dropped her off while he reminded me I should probably shower one more time. Good plan. Off he went and off I went. We had to be at the surgery center by 10:30 and I think we walked in at 10:25. I signed necessary papers, confirmed my ID bracelet and waited about 5 minutes to go back into the prep room where they got me changed into my gown, made me put some ridiculous compression socks on and get into an impossibly tiny bed that was built for those tiny girls who write about their boob jobs who are like 5' tall and weigh like 95 pounds. Not for girls like me, but whatevs. It took 4 tries to get my IV started because I was dehydrated from not being allowed to drink water since the night before. That was less than favorable, but whatever. IV meant that I could get the drugs that would calm me down so I was game. They asked me a bunch of questions about why I was there and then the doctor came in to draw on my boobs. My husband joked that he should draw his infamous "Cat's Ass" on there, but I talked him out of it. I made the doctor show me that his hands were steady (he apparently was nowhere near as nervous as I was - read: not at all nervous), I asked him to remove a skin tag that I was pretty certain would interfere with under wires on down the road, he drew all over me (I couldn't watch that part for some reason) and then he told me that pretty soon I could get the medicine that would calm my nerves. After he went out the anesthesiologist came in and walked me through some stuff and had me sign a form. I honestly don't remember a word she said to me, but I do remember she had the goofiest voice ever. Like, really goofy. They put an anti-nausea patch behind my ear for good measure and told me not to touch it and then touch my eyes or my pupils would dilate huge for a long time (good to know!) Pretty soon they put something in my IV to calm me down (I never asked what it was) and she told me to tell her when I felt it. I remember telling her it was getting hot in there (and then she said "there it is!" I kissed my husband goodbye and started crying (see aforementioned GIANT BALL OF NERVES) and then they wheeled me into the O.R. I remember seeing the huge lights overhead. They told me I put myself on the operating table. I remember none of that. I remember Goofy Voice telling me to breathe in from the mask (sort of vaguely) and then I remember waking up with an elephant on my chest. Surgery took 52 minutes, which is 25 minutes faster than what they said it would take.
In the recovery room I woke up and came out of my anesthesia pretty quickly. I had planned to hope to be able to do that before surgery because I HATE having a cloudy head. I pulled it off and even the nurse told me I came out of it pretty fast. I had no nausea but they gave me an anti-nausea pill anyway just to be safe because I told them the thought of puking at that point sounded MISERABLE to me. I don't know how long I was in that room after surgery - maybe an hour or an hour and a half. Before long they were slowly sitting me up and letting my legs down and then I was allowed to put my pants on (which I also don't remember) and my sweatshirt. I was STARVING too. They told me they gave me the biggest sports bra they had but that it was way too small so I would have to get another pretty soon. I went with 800cc smooth round moderate profile silicone implants, which as I understand are the largest silicone ones you can get. They sound huge, but on me, they're totally proportionate. Again, I'm not small. She told me to take a valium then (I think she gave me one?) and a percoset when I got home so long as I ate something. Then she told me if I wasn't nauseous at all, I could have some saltine crackers on my way home, which she gave me. Let me tell you - it was like 1:45 in the afternoon and I hadn't eaten since 6:30 the night before. (bummer I didn't eat later so I wasn't so famished, but probably good because my stomach was empty which probably helped with the nausea). Those crackers were freaking amazing and I nibbled on them the entire way home. Best crackers I ever had! I dozed in and out, answered some work emails from my phone and watched an absurd amount of HGTV in the bedroom in between naps, but for the most part, I stayed on my pillow stack and stayed in bed. Rest is great medicine.
My mother in law got to the house shortly after we did so that I wasn't alone while my husband went to go pick up the kiddo. I convinced him I was fine to eat a hamburger, fries and a milkshake from Carl's Jr. Normally I hate milkshakes but my throat was killing me from being intubated and that sounded amazing to me. I sat at the dining room table with everyone, at my kids meal and promptly went to bed where I crashed for the next few hours. My husband was MILITANT about making sure I got all of my medicine exactly when I was supposed to, about logging my pain levels, and about making sure I drank TONS of water, etc. It took a long time for my general anesthetic and the localized stuff they gave me (which I didn't realize they did - probably was on the form I signed or explained to me, but again, way too nervous to remember)to wear off. I managed to keep my pain levels at about a 2 or so when I was laying on my pillow-incline and about a 3 when I stood up. I could walk and go to the bathroom by myself, but I had my husband stay close by just incase. At 1:15 Thursday night into Friday morning I was due for my next dose. At 1:07 I was wide awake and ready for my medicine. My pain level was probably realistically at about a 6 out of 10 at that point, which was the worst it ever was. I think everything had worn off at that point and I was due for both meds at that time, and I took them gladly! I was fine again within about 20 minutes and slept until about 7:00 that next morning and then he dosed me again and I slept some more.
Friday was more of the same. I mostly only got up to go pee or to do a hot-lap around the house to keep my circulation going. And to eat at the table. I only snacked in the room but for the most part I ate in the dining room. I thought it was good to force myself to get out of bed here and there. My pain levels were pretty steady on Friday maybe maxing out at about a 3 out of 10. I was more uncomfortable than hurting. Nothing really awful. I practiced very slowly raising my arms above my head to help keep some mobility in those muscles and I watched a lot more TV. The munchkin came in a few times and drew me pictures and ate with me and hung out. She was amazing. The nurse called me that day to see how I was doing and to answer any questions I had. I wanted to know when I could shower. Their practice is after 24 hours. I thought about it that day, but decided against it. I wasn't quite ready yet. Surgery took a lot out of me and I felt like a weakling still.
Saturday was a bigger day for me. My husband had a job scheduled for that morning. I called my neighbor to come down and let the dog out of the kennel for me because I was afraid to squeeze the latch and pull up on the door. She visited for a bit. I started to feel kinda lousy so I went back to bed for a little while with a bottle of water and rested up. I felt much better in about 20 minutes or so. When he got home and we ate, I went out to the living room and sat on the couch for a bit. We hung around the house and then that late afternoon or evening I was finally ready for a shower. He helped me get undressed and for the first time, we saw the boobs. Whoa. I though there was padding in my sports bra because when I touched the fabric, I couldn't feel any sensation on my skin. The nurse told me there was padding in there, too. Except when we took off the bra, there was no padding. I didn't know to expect this, but the bottom (round part) of both of my boobs were numb-ish. So were my nipples. It makes sense because things get shoved around and displaced in there to make room for that implant. I now know it takes a while for things to reconnect and go back to how they were. I'm slowly regaining that sensation at nearly 3 weeks out, but it still feels very strange. I also get random shooting pains in both breasts, which the nurse told me is from nerves reconnecting, etc., while things heal in there and that what I'm experiencing is normal. Still, if something doesn't feel right to you, you should ask your doctor. You paid for more than just the surgery - take advantage of that care! (And especially don't listen to me, who has zero expertise to offer in this entire subject!! After all, this blog is only about my own personal experience and is not intended to be medical advice in any capacity). So back to where I was. First time we saw them. Holy high-boobs! I swear my chin nearly hit them when I turned my head. They looked like pointy, smashed jelly beans under my chest. It was very, very strange to me. I still had the tape over the incisions and I was instructed not to face the shower for the first week. I had my husband stay close in case I needed help washing my hair (I did not) and I needed him to help me dry off because I was afraid to bend over. Shaving my legs sucked too, but I got it done because I hate pokey legs. I usually shave every day and it had been since Thursday morning so I was ready. We took pictures of them from the front and the side daily for the first week and I'm trying to just do weekly pictures after that.
Sunday we went to breakfast and to a couple places to find better fitting sports bras. I had success with a fruit of the loom 2-pack at Wal-Mart for $10. I wasn't about to go all in at this point because they're going to change a ton before they're settled and bras for big boobs are really expensive. I took Tylenol only for pain by Sunday and my valium only at bed time to help me sleep. I don't recommend this, but I was bound and determined to be off the meds as quickly as possible. I have a 6 year old and a household and I don't like feeling foggy. My husband was AMAZING beyond words and I know he would have been fine with me staying on everything for longer but I couldn't do it.
Monday morning I drove our daughter to summer camp down the road. In immediate hind-sight that was too soon. I was a bit shaky by the time I got back to the house, but for the rest of the day I felt mostly pretty good. I called the doctors office that day and asked a nurse if I could pleeeeaaaase lower my pillow incline or sleep on my side. I'm not a back sleeper at all and being in that position was killing me. She said if it was causing me that much pain, it was fine. I slept SO GOOD that night. I took the kiddo to gymnastics that night. I felt like I looked silly so I wore a t-shirt. Again, huge implants have nowhere to go but up at first, and at that point, they were right where they were supposed to be! I stayed home from work that day (though I had originally planned to go back) at the urging of my coworkers, and then I hit the ground running on Tuesday morning, giant bottle of Tylenol in tow!
By this point my pain was completely manageable. I wasn't taking any of the prescription meds they'd given me and I was trying to settle as much as possible back into my normal daily routine. Lots of things have taken some adjusting to. Driving felt REALLY strange at first and I laughed at myself for holding my elbows out to the sides while I did so. It felt strange to have my arms in their normal position while I drove. My depth perception of where my chest was took some adjusting as well as I bonked myself a few times on doors, etc., that I could normally squeeze past.
They also gave me a chart of things to expect over the course of the next 2 weeks: pain, swelling, mood and energy. There were peaks and pits for all of them. I thought the mood one was ridiculous - I'd been waiting for this surgery FOR-E-VER and there was no way my mood was going to drop. I was so excited! Pain and swelling and energy I could totally understand, but this? No. Except it totally did, right about the time they said it would. Probably just under a week or so in. I was just tired of being not-quite-in-pain and uncomfortable constantly and having them so high and having them so far up on my chest. I looked silly and nothing was dropping. I wasn't allowed to massage them yet and I just really felt crummy. The chart was right. It was really strange.
Anyway, things are really good so far. In my next post, I'll tell you about my post-op visit!
Stay tuned!
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